✈️ Early morning greetings, as I'm about to fly to D.C. for some Axios meetings. Decided not to risk the in-flight WiFi...

A few years back, some friends decided to take me to Level 99 for my birthday. When I asked what it was, they said they weren't sure but that they'd heard it was lots of fun. Plus, there would be beer.

• They were right. On both counts.

Driving the news: Level 99, which is best-described as a real-world gaming venue for adults, tells Axios that it's raised $50 million from ACT III Holdings, the investment firm led by Panera founder and Cava chairman Ron Shaich.

• Act III previously invested $10 million.
• "This could be the most exciting business I've ever been involved with, and that includes Cava," Shaich says.

Zoom in: I went to the inaugural Level 99, which is located inside what once was a suburban shopping mall Sears.

• It features around 50 physical and mental challenges inside small rooms, ranging from relatively easy to maddingly difficult. And everyone wears wristbands to access the rooms and keep track of your performance (yes, there's a giant scoreboard).
• Plus immersive art, a scratch kitchen serving comfort food, and a full-service bar that's partnered with a local brewery. Its team includes vets of Disney Imagineering and Meow Wolf.
• Level 99 has three open locations, will open a fourth in early 2026 and just broke ground in Disney Springs. Other leases are signed, although the company isn't disclosing geographies.

By the numbers: Shaich sold Panera for $7.5 billion, which is around the same figure as Cava's current market cap.

What they're saying: "My last company, which now is part of Level 99, had a team that for 17 years did designs and builds for third-party clients," says Matt DuPlessie, founder and CEO of Level99. "Disney. Museums. Major theme parks. Theatrical productions. We built stage sets for Blue Man Group. We put exhibits in the Smithsonian."

• He adds: "I started to see patterns of what was working in location-based entertainment and what would go stale."
• A big key, he and Shaich say, is engaging people without relying on screens.

Anglo American (LSE: AAL) agreed to buy Teck Resources (TSX: TECK), via an all-stock deal that would give the combined company a market cap of around $53 billion.

Why it's the BFD: This would create one of the world's largest miners of copper, a metal essential to both data centers and renewable energy.

• It also comes after both Anglo American and Teck have fended off acquisition efforts by larger rivals.

Zoom in: The companies are referring to this as a "merger of equals," and say it's expected to close in the next 12 to 18 months.

The bottom line: "A Teck-Anglo combination has long been discussed behind the scenes. Both companies have been seeking to simplify their businesses — Teck sold a majority stake in its coal division to Glencore, while Anglo has exited platinum mining and is in the process of trying to sell its own coal mines and offload its De Beers diamond unit." — Bloomberg

• Cognition, a New York-based AI coding startup, raised $400m at a $10.2b post-money valuation. Founders Fund led, joined by Lux Capital, 8VC, Neo, Elad Gil, Definition Capital, and Swish VC. axios.link/4nkwJOD

• ElevenLabs, an AI audio startup, is launching a $100m tender offer valuing it at $6.6b, per Bloomberg. Sequoia Capital and Iconiq Growth are leading, with participation from a16z. axios.link/3V3B5h4

• Epigenic Therapeutics, a Shanghai-based clinical drug development company, raised $60m in Series B funding. Lapam Capital led, joined by Qiming Venture Partners and OrbiMed. axios.link/3I9JEUw

• DataCrunch, a Finnish AI infrastructure company, raised €55m in Series A equity and debt funding from byFounders, Skaala, Varma, Tesi, and J12 Ventures. axios.link/4m6AEh0

• Motion, developer of "Microsoft Office for AI agents," raised $38m in Series C funding at a $550m valuation. Scale Venture Partners led, joined by HOF Capital, 468 Capital, SignalFire, Valor Equity Partners, Fellows Fund, and Leonis Capital. axios.link/4pjgdQW